The Project

The Project Opera for Allis a pioneering initiative in Brazil aimed at educating children towards the appreciation of classical music by making use of the huge emotional potential of the great classics as a motivating factor in the learning process.

In this project, opera, the most complete expression of art, is used as a tool to invite children to immerse themselves in the realm of art, reading and writing. As a teaching resource, the opera encourages children in the early stages of learning to read and write to experience profound feelings with masterly compositions that transmit emotions through intense and vibrant chords, which are materialised in the dramatization of the scenes.

The project works with the several languages of opera – music, dance, literature, poetry and drama – in order to foster the process of learning literacy. This rich emotional and intellectual stimulation is reflected in the quality of the texts produced by the children throughout the project, allowing simultaneously the expansion of their cultural horizons and worldview.

The project’s final productionsare a book rewriting the script’s narrative and a dramatization of the opera, in which the children act, dance and play music.

In the Project Opera for All, children are not only spectators but also key players in these great works of art.

 The project has contributed in raising children’s self-esteem, developing reading and writing skills to express creativity and emotions and creating conditions to develop new learning opportunities, as well as revealing artistic talents in different fields.

Thanks to these outcomes, the project received the Educational Award Darcy Ribeiro, the most important prize granted by the Brazilian House of Representatives in the field of education. This prize is awarded annually by the Commission of Education and Culture of the Federal House of Representatives to individuals or entities whose work or initiatives to foster and promote education in Brazil deserve special mention.

The performances produced at the end of the project have contributed to disseminating the appreciation of classical music, which is translated in the growing numbers of spectators, so far reaching more than twenty thousand people, and involving a cast of more than fifteen hundred six-year-olds.

The cultural and teaching value of the Project Opera for All has been recognised both by education-based entities and the press, which often highlights the importance of this initiative.

REASONS AND GOALS

The aim of this project is to offer an environment that encourages the learning process of children who are being taught how to read and write, by providing them with a plethora of activities in different areas. The field of Arts was chosen as it allows a strong emotional engagement, which is considered an important aspect of social, emotional, intellectual and motor development and – notably - of the process of learning literacy.

Writing is an act of exteriorisation of an interior reality. The more intensively reality is experienced the more power it will have to be expressed. Therefore, by linking literacy to an artistic activity we give strength and meaning to this process.

To know the details of the project, see the publication: MURAD, Ceres. Opera school - a Learning Experience. São Paulo: Editora Senac, 2010.